


Service Dogs for Superheroes (SDfSH): Steve and Verity

by literally_no_idea



Series: Service Dogs for Superheroes (SDfSH) Main Series [9]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Minor Character Death, Original Character Death(s), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, SDfSH 'verse, Service Animals, Service Dogs, Steve Rogers Has PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 20:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17988089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literally_no_idea/pseuds/literally_no_idea
Summary: Natasha chooses Steve’s dog easily. She knows exactly what kind of dog she’s looking for, she’s found a breeder, and she’s waiting for the breeder to get back to her about when the next litter will be born when Steve solves the problem for her.It’s 10am on a Sunday, and Natasha’s starting to worry because Steve goes to 8am mass and should be back by now, but he’s nowhere in sight. She’s actually wondering whether or not to call him when she hears the elevator ding, and Steve’s hesitant voice call “Hey, Nat? JARVIS said you were up here. Uh, can I get your advice on something?” There’s a scuffling noise, and Steve grunts. “Uh, maybe quickly?”





	Service Dogs for Superheroes (SDfSH): Steve and Verity

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome back to the series, or if you're new here, welcome!
> 
> There's a fairly brief mention of an original character's death, in case that bothers anyone.

Natasha chooses Steve’s dog easily. She knows exactly what kind of dog she’s looking for, she’s found a breeder, and she’s waiting for the breeder to get back to her about when the next litter will be born when Steve solves the problem for her.

 

It’s 10am on a Sunday, and Natasha’s starting to worry because Steve goes to 8am mass and should be back by now, but he’s nowhere in sight. She’s actually wondering whether or not to call him when she hears the elevator ding, and Steve’s hesitant voice call “Hey, Nat? JARVIS said you were up here. Uh, can I get your advice on something?” There’s a scuffling noise, and Steve grunts. “Uh, maybe quickly?”

 

Natasha’s up and to the elevator in seconds, and as soon as the elevator comes into view she’s confused, because-- “Steve, is that a Labrador Retriever?” she asks, and Steve nods, still trying to keep the dog from running out onto the communal floor by holding onto the dog’s collar in a death grip.

 

“Uh, yeah, I’m not sure how she does with other dogs, and I wasn’t sure if it would be okay for her to be here, but I didn’t really know where else to take her, so uh. Yeah.”

 

Steve is stumbling over his own words so much that it sounds like he might actually start crying if Natasha doesn’t say something nice, so she does what feels natural. She steps forward, grabs the dog’s collar, and taps Steve’s arm with her other hand. “You can let go, I’ve got her,” she says, and Steve releases his grip on the collar with a sigh of relief.

 

The dog pulls to get out of the elevator, and Natasha turns with the dog, planting her feet, and the dog hits the end of Natasha’s reach and comes to a jolting stop, panting and looking around, whites of her eyes showing. “Steve, where did you get her from?”

 

“So, there’s-- there was this older lady that used to come to church every Sunday morning, Ms. O’Sullivan, and she wasn’t there this morning. I went to go check on her at her home, because I’ve helped her with her groceries before, and she just passed in her sleep, I guess. I called 911, but she had her dog in the house, and I didn’t want them to take the dog to the pound, so. I brought her home?” He blushes as he says the last part, suddenly becoming very interested with the way his shoes look, and Natasha rolls her eyes. Of course he just decided to bring an old lady’s dog home. Okay.

 

“Do you know her name?” she asks, and Steve nods.

 

“Verity.” When Natasha gives him an amused look, Steve shrugs. “She got the dog not long after we first met. It might have been because I suggested she get a dog for company. She might have named the dog with Captain America in mind. I don’t know.” Steve looks genuinely overwhelmed, and Natasha just pats his shoulder.

 

“It’s fine. Well, none of the other dogs are on the floor right now, so. Jarvis, keep the other dogs off the communal floor for a bit?”

 

“Of course, Ms. Romanoff. All dog handlers have been informed as to the current situation.”

 

“Thank you, Jarvis.” Natasha lets go of the collar, and Verity takes off, running to the furthest room from them and then back, sniffing at anything and everything she sees.

 

“Are you sure this is okay?” Steve asks, and Natasha nods.

 

“Yeah, she should be fine. She’s nervous and maybe curious, but she doesn’t seem reactive. Besides, there was something I wanted to talk to you about anyway, and this might be the perfect time.”

 

Steve turns to look at Natasha. “Okay, what is it?”

 

“Well, how would you feel about having a service dog?”

 

There’s a rummaging sound, and then squeaking as Verity comes running down the hall, holding a plush pink bunny dog toy in her mouth, dropping it at Steve’s feet, who smiles like Verity has just brought him the best gift ever. “I think I could be okay with that idea.”

 

* * *

 

As it turns out, Verity seems to be a suitable candidate for Steve’s service dog. Once she’s over the initial anxiety of being taken from her former owner’s home and brought to a new place, she becomes more curious and enthusiastic than nervous, bringing Steve anything she finds that’s even mildly possible for her to carry.

 

By the end of the first half hour in the tower, Steve is surrounded by a pile of pillows, dog toys, blankets, and every sealed container Verity could find in the kitchen, from tupperware to some of Bucky’s prescription pill bottles. Steve is flustered, but Natasha finds it adorable, and she takes a few discreet photos on her phone before helping Steve put everything back.

 

They have Jarvis ask the other handlers if they can bring their dogs down to the communal floor now, and they get a yes from Clint and Bruce, a no from Bucky, and a “give me ten minutes” from Tony, so Natasha uses the time to see what commands Verity already knows. She can sit and down on command, but that appears to be it. However, she’s a quick learner, and Natasha’s already taught her to high five by the time Clint arrives with Lucky.

 

Lucky hurtles out of the elevator, tripping over his own paws, and Natasha has to hold back a laugh at his resemblance to Clint. Verity runs up to greet him, stopping a few feet away so Lucky can approach her first. Lucky sniffs her butt, and Verity returns the favor, both dogs’ tails wagging steadily at mid-height. After sniffing each other, Verity drops into a play bow that Lucky mimics, and then they’re racing off down the hall, paws skittering across the hardwood floor.

 

“I didn’t realize you had a new dog trained already, Nat,” Clint says, and Natasha shakes her head.

 

“I don’t. This is Verity, Steve’s new dog. She used to belong to a friend of Steve’s.” Clint’s smart enough to read between the lines, so he just nods, watching the dogs play.

 

The elevator dings again, and the doors open to reveal Bruce and Smash. Smash takes a couple steps out of the elevator, looking left and right, then turns back and nudges Bruce’s hand. They step out together just in time for Lucky and Verity to run directly into Bruce’s legs, knocking him to the ground.

 

“Watch out, there’s two dogs running around,” Clint tells Bruce, holding out a hand, and Bruce snorts.

 

“Yeah, thanks for the warning.” Bruce takes the hand Clint offers him, and Smash nudges at his side, moving to stand on the side of Bruce closer to where the other two dogs had run off to again. “I’m okay, go say hi,” Bruce tells Smash, and she nudges his hand one last time before running in the direction of the thumping noises that are presumably Lucky and Verity wrestling. “So, new dog already?”

 

Natasha’s about to answer when the elevator doors open for the third time, and Diva jumps out, Tony following as he wipes his grease-covered hands on his jeans. “Okay, so there’s another dog now? And no one told me about this? This is still my tower, right? I pay the bills? No one bought it out from under me in my sleep, right? Because I feel like I should be told about these things first.” Diva races down the hall towards the sounds of the other dogs, and Tony just lets him go.

 

“It wasn’t intentional,” Steve says, and he looks genuinely embarrassed, “I just- I didn’t want her to end up at a pound all alone, or with someone who wouldn’t treat her right, and-”

 

“Whoa, Rogers, chill on the speech,” Tony interrupts, “I was joking. It’s cool. I kinda figured this was going to be happening now, you know, all the dogs. So relax, it’s fine. What’s the new kid’s name?”

 

“...Verity.”

 

Tony laughs. “Oh, that’s perfect, Star Spangled Banner and his dog, Verity.”

 

“Yeah, because ‘Patriotism’ just would have been too much, right?” Clint adds, and he and Tony high five while Bruce groans and Steve just sighs.

 

“Okay, jokes aside. She’s staying though, right? Because I can have her dog bowl set up by tonight,” Tony says, and Steve looks at Natasha, so she answers instead.

 

“Yeah, she’s staying. I think she’ll work out.”

 

“Cool. Then I’m gonna need Diva back so we can get set up in the workshop. Oh, and can I borrow your dog, Mr. Freedom? I’ll need measurements for her vest.”

 

“Sure.” Steve looks flustered, but Tony either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care, because he just claps his hands together excitedly.

 

“Right! Okay. Diva! Let’s go, kiddo! Verity! If you answer to your name, let’s go!” Diva comes barreling back down the hall, the rest of the dogs chasing him, and they all stop by their respective handlers, checking in. Verity runs up to Steve, licking his hands, but turns when Tony calls her name again from the elevator. “Come on, kid!” he calls, and Steve points her towards Tony, so she trots into the elevator, head tilted as she watches the doors close between her and Steve.

 

“So. I’m headed back to my lab, if that’s alright,” Bruce says, and Natasha nods.

 

“Yeah, thanks for coming down, Bruce. See you later. You too, Clint.” Both men nod, and when the elevator doors open again, they step back in with their dogs, and then they’re gone.

 

There’s about a minute of silence before Steve finally says something. “This will work out, right?”

 

Natasha smiles. “Hey, I’ve done this before. It’ll be fine. But we should maybe talk about what all you might want or need from Verity.” She heads back to the couch she’d been sitting on before Steve and Verity showed up, grabbing her tablet. “So, I’ve got some ideas of what might be good for Verity to know, tell me what you think.” Steve sits down on the couch next to her, and they get to work.

 

* * *

 

It’s fairly easy to train Verity; none of her tasks are mobility related, so the fact that Steve doesn’t know her exact age isn’t really a problem, and they won’t have to worry as much about her elbows and hips. They have her tested anyway, and she’s in acceptable ranges, so it’s no big deal.

 

The hardest task for Verity to learn is deep pressure therapy for Steve’s dissociation, and it’s mostly difficult because she has a lot of energy and doesn’t particularly like staying still for long. This works to their advantage for some of her other tasks though, including her anger intervention related tasks.

 

As part of his PTSD, as well as his general personality, Steve can be fairly quick to anger, and they train Verity to interrupt Steve if he starts to lash out. Generally, all Verity has to do is paw at Steve’s leg as an alert if he starts to get angry, but sometimes he’s harder to persuade, and Verity has learned to actually tackle Steve if he’s becoming too angry or aggressive.

 

Having Verity tackle Steve wasn’t necessarily intentional; however, in one of their training sessions, Natasha asked Steve to keep pretending to be angry even after Verity pawed at his leg, so he kept yelling, getting closer and closer to Natasha until Verity took a few steps back and  _ launched _ herself at Steve, shocking him enough that he actually fell over. It was hilarious at the time, and Natasha realized later that teaching Verity to do that might actually be practical, too.

 

They also work on having Verity distinguish between Steve being jokingly mad and actually being mad, and she learns quickly, letting Steve keep going if he’s joking but stopping him when he’s actually mad.

 

* * *

 

When the day finally comes to test Verity in a public place, Natasha chooses a small restaurant she’s heard good things about, and she goes with Steve and Verity to make sure everything goes well. The staff are kind and accommodating, and it’s not until their food comes out that there’s a problem.

 

Due to the serum, Steve needs to eat a lot, so the server comes out with a tray piled with food, and people turn to see what table all that food is going to. Steve looks embarrassed, but the server is kind, and walks away once all the food is on the table. As soon as the server leaves, a couple kids come running over, screaming “PUPPY!” as they run. They drop down to pet Verity, and Steve holds out a hand to stop them.

 

“Sorry, kids, she’s working right now,” he says gently, and the kids pout, but walk away with quiet apologies. That should have been the end of it, but a woman (presumably the mother) approaches the table.

 

“How dare you tell my kids not to pet your dog! It’s not like it’s a big deal,” she says, and Steve frowns.

 

“Ma’am, she’s working right now, that’s why she’s allowed in the restaurant. I’d prefer people didn’t pet her, and even though it’s not dangerous to me if she gets distracted for a moment, you don’t know that, and if your children had distracted a medical alert dog, the handler could have ended up in the hospital,” Steve explains, voice a little tight like he’s trying not to yell.

 

“Well, I don’t think that you should act so entitled, Avenger or not,” the woman says huffily, and Steve goes very still.  _ Time to see how good Verity’s training is _ , Natasha thinks, and she gets her answer moments later.

 

“It’s not entitlement, ma’am, it’s basic decency. If you use a car, or bus, or taxi, or the subway, you use it because it helps you get around better, it allows you to do more everyday. That’s what a service dog, or a wheelchair, or prescription medication is for people with disabilities. It’s a way to get around better, to do more everyday and access all the joys of life. So if you have a problem with people’s life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, maybe you need to choose a different country. I hear Russia has some space,” Steve says, and he’s building up to say more when Verity stands up from under the table, pawing at his leg.

 

Steve looks down, giving Verity a quick pat on the head before standing up. “Now if you’ll excuse me, ma’am, that’s my cue to step out and breathe before this conversation gets out of hand.” He steps past the mother and walks out of the restaurant with Verity at his side, turning down the alley beside the building.

 

The woman stares, open mouthed, as Steve leaves, and then turns around to head back to her table. Natasha catches her arm before she goes. “Also, I’m sure you’ve seen the news coverage about me,” she says, smiling sweetly, “So let me inform you that harassing a service dog is a felony, and you could face a one thousand dollar fine or jail time if you’re found guilty. Alternatively, you could face me if I see you or your children harass a service dog again. So don’t let me see that happen. And remember, I’m a spy and an assassin. I see everything.” Natasha lets go of the woman’s arm. “Enjoy the rest of your meal.”

 

The lady walks away in silence, and Natasha turns back to start eating her food, waiting for Steve to come back in. The conversations that had stopped at the tables around them slowly start back up again, and Natasha sees the woman and her children leave with their food in to go containers a few minutes later. Steve comes back in, and they continue their meal and conversation, Verity resting calmly at Steve’s feet.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Here's your service dog facts for the day:
> 
> -Anger and/or aggression can be one of the symptoms of PTSD, and service dogs for PTSD are often trained to interrupt or distract their handler from behaving aggressively. There is some debate over whether this is safe and ethical to ask of a dog; however, I firmly believe that if done properly, a service dog tasking for someone's anger is no more at risk than a pet dog around their owner if the owner is just upset in general.
> 
> -I personally have some anger issues as a result of my PTSD and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). My service dog in training has learned to bark at me, jump on me, or paw at me until I respond more calmly. Usually, all I really need is something to disrupt my thoughts. When my dog interacts with me in one of these ways, it disrupts the normal pattern of my anger, and that brief pause helps me get my bearings again.
> 
> -At the end of this chapter, we have a confrontation with a mom. This is pretty common for service dog handlers to experience. Where I live, service dogs in training are allowed public access, so long as they behave appropriately, and I've had some very strange, frightening, and uncomfortable interactions with people, including a man that got in my face and yelled at me. This is an unfortunate but common experience for service dog handlers.
> 
> -Natasha mentions a fine or jail time for harassing a service animal, and this is true; however, fines and jail time varies from state to state. For example, in California, the fine or jail time is higher than that in New York. Fines and jail time also vary based on the severity of the interference with the service animal; harassment, injury to the dog or handler, and death of the dog or handler all carry different penalties.
> 
> So there's your service dog facts for the day!
> 
> If you'd like to see some more drabbles related to this series or want to talk to me about this series, you can find me on tumblr [ here ](https://servicedogsforsuperheroes.tumblr.com)
> 
> Bruce/Hulk's dog being named Smash and the original concept for this series comes from AO3 user [ thingswithwings ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thingswithwings/pseuds/thingswithwings) and their story [ "Five Ways to Get In Touch with Your Inner Mild-Mannered Scientist" ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/429749?view_adult=true)
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


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